This invention relates generally to apparatus for cleaning and lubricating the working surfaces of various forming devices and more particularly to such automatic reciprocating devices which are adapted to pass between the open opposed working surfaces of such forming apparatus as dies, molds, or other similar apparatus, and spray such surfaces with air or other desired fluids such as lubricating compounds, cooling agents or release agents between operational cycles of such forming apparatus.
In many industrial forming processes, such as, the molding, die-casting, drawing, and forging of various metals or other similar materials, it is necessary to apply a lubricant to the working surfaces of such dies or other forming apparatus between machine-cycle operations. Also, it is often desirable to blow air across these working surfaces to remove scale, sediment or other impurities which may have remained adhered thereto from previous operational cycles. Further, the application of air and lubricant to these working surfaces tends to cool the dies between operational cycles thereby prolonging the life of the dies. In certain cases it may also be desirable to apply a suitable release agent to promote removal of the finished article upon completion of the operational cycle.
Various devices have been developed for automatically applying these lubricants or release agents which also provide means for blowing out the cavities of the die or mold. Generally, all of these devices employ a hydraulic or peneumatically actuated piston having a telescoping rod attached thereto which carries a plurality of spray heads. The spray head is moved inward between the opposing faces of the die surfaces so as to enable it to spray these surfaces with any desired combination of fluids. Once actuated, the piston will cause the rod attached thereto to extend thereby causing the attached spray head to travel between the opposed working surfaces of the die or mold and suitable control circuitry times the application of the fluids as well as the withdrawal of the spray head so as to insure that the spray head is completely withdrawn before the closing of the mold. Occasionally, this timing mechanism may malfunction and thereby fail to withdraw the spray head and associated piston rod prior to the closing of the die. This failure results in the crushing of both the spray head and hydraulic piston rod member by the die or mold members. As the piston and rod members are connected interiorly of the piston housing, the entire piston assembly will generally require replacement. This replacement operation is expensive both in terms of machine down time and parts required for repair as the rod member must be accurately machined in order to afford a close telescopic fit within the piston housing. Further, as the piston is designed to telescope within the piston housing, it is important that the telescoping surfaces of the piston be kept relatively clean. Occasionally, in the cleaning of the working surfaces of the die or mold, debris may be thrown up on these telescoping surfaces, which may cause the hydraulic piston to jam upon actuation of its retraction cycle. This jamming may also leave the spray head and associated portion of the piston rod between die or mold surfaces as it is closed, resulting in a crushing thereof. In many cases, this crushing of the spray head and associated rod member may result in substantial damage to the working surfaces of the die or mold itself, thus further increasing the costs of repairs required. Further, while it is possible to provide additional sensing and control mechanisms to prevent the die or mold from closing until the spray head has been removed from between the opposed surfaces, such additional control means is often expensive to design, install, and maintain and further provides additional operating mechanisms which are subject to failure, and in any event further increases the overall maintenance costs for the reciprocating device.
Further, the hydraulic or pneumatic piston assemblies require high pressure seals in order to insure against actuating fluid leakage. These seals are subjected to continual wear as well as high temperatures due to the close proximity to the dies or molds, thus requiring periodic replacement in order to prevent a malfunction of the device. This also results in further increasing both operating maintenance costs and machine down time.
The state of the art is shown by the following patents;
______________________________________ U.S. Patent No. To Issued ______________________________________ 3,482,652 Stone III Dec. 9, 1969 2,929,564 Stone III March 22, 1960 2,344,905 Short March 21, 1944 3,525,382 Devol Aug. 25, 1970 3,522,838 Ott Aug. 4, 1970 2,695,592 Szczepanski Nov. 30, 1954 3,393,658 Ott July 23, 1968 3,544,355 Ott Dec. 1, 1970 954,241 Affelder and Gorton April 5, 1910 3,870,164 Haase March 11, 1975 3,669,592 Miller June 13, 1972 German Patent Specification No. Issued 1,296,743 Jan. 22, 1970 and the following publications: Acheson Technical Brochure, entitled "Dag Swing Arm Reciprocator for automatic spraying of pressure die casting dies". Rimrock Corp. technical data sheet for Reciprocator Model 001, Model 002, Manifold and Nozzle Assemblies Model 104. Rimrock Corp. technical report No. 3 entitled "How problem tooling runs more profitably at Kolsters Tool and Die". G-W Plastics Engineers, Inc., technical bulletin 300R. ______________________________________
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reciprocating device having a spray head carrying member which is adapted to reciprocate between opposed faces of such dies or molds and may be easily and rapidly replaced should such member become damaged by the premature closing of the mold or die.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a reciprocating device which may be quickly and inexpensively repaired, should such premature closing of the die members occur, thereby minimizing machine down time.
It is a still further objective of the present invention to provide a reciprocating device which is inexpensive to construct, may be easily maintained, and minimizes the associated control circuitry.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.